He studied at Carleton College and served in the United States Navy during World War II, from 1944 to 1946, as an Electronic Technician Mate Third Class.
In 1950, Nordberg received a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and thereafter worked in private practice in Chicago, Illinois from 1950 to 1976.
Nordberg began serving as a Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois from 1976 to 1982.
[2] On March 11, 1982, President Ronald Reagan nominated Nordberg to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that had previously been vacated by Judge Bernard Martin Decker.
[2][3] Nordberg died on March 12, 2021, in Northbrook, Illinois, at the age of 94.